Gérard Pesson is considered one of the most talented French composers. This recognition has brought him numerous official awards and the regular programming of his works by the greatest French and European groups.

After studying musicology at the Sorbonne, Gérard Pesson entered the CNSM in Paris. He obtained a First Prize in musical analysis in 1985 (class of Betsy Jolas) and composition in 1988 (class of Ivo Malec). Very quickly, his works drew attention and were recognized. He was the winner of the Opéra Autrement competition for his lyrical opus Beau soir, premiered at the Avignon Festival in 1989. In 1990, he became a resident at the Villa Medici for two years. During the 1990s, his works were regularly scheduled at the Festival Présences de Radio France: Hommage à Dominique Troncin, by Dominique My and the Ensemble Fa in 1995, Butterfly, le nom by Dominique My and the Chœur de Radio France in 1996, Mes beatitudes, by Dominique My and the Fa Ensemble in 1998, and Butterfly's note-book  by the Alice Ader Ensemble in 2000. In 1996, his sextet Récréations françaises was awarded the Prince Pierre of Monaco Prize.

The year 2000 saw the creation, at the Théâtre des Amandiers in Nanterre, of his opera Forever Valley composed to a libretto by Marie Redonnet. Gérard Pesson is also a writer. In 2004, he published Cran d’arrêt du beau temps, a kind of journal in which he recounts his encounters with writers, poets and musicians. He then began a collaboration with the choreographer Daniel Dobbels and wrote the music for several of his shows such as L’Epanchement d’écho (2006) and Danser, depeur (2009). Professor of composition at the CNSM in Paris since 2006, he received the Music Prize of the Berlin Academy of Arts the following year.

The works of Gérard Pesson are regularly played by numerous ensembles and orchestras in France and abroad: the Ensemble Fa, the Ensemble 2e2m, the Ensemble intercontemporain, Route, the Ensemble Modern, the Klangforum Wien, the Ensemble Recherche, Ensemble Ictus, Alter Ego, Accroche Note, Erwartung, Orchester National de Lyon, Orchestre national d'Île-de-France, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.